Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:31 am  

Fishermanscap wrote:

But he's right we didn't.

Virtually every play went to the much weaker winger and I mean much weaker winger as did most of the kicks. After the first 20 mins, I had to ask if T was actually playing he was so uninvolved.

It's just a tragedy where that lad is concerned. He's no fool, he knows he'll never get as much ball at Trinity as he will at a top club but if there was one downer on last week and most weeks for that matter it's the STARVATION of Johnstone.

Try and cast your minds back to the last time that lad got a pass that put him into space? Space for TJ now appears to be the square inch between the sideline and the touchline. A few meters out is pure luxury, from his own half, forget it. There are trainers on the sideline who get to run further than Johnstone in a match.

If the Chester out brigade need to make their case it's hard to overlook this lads plight and yes I do blame the coaching for this one.

And where did it get us? We went toe to toe with the best team in the league and for a large part of the game a win was in our grasps.

Scoring a try for Trinity has been a luxury recently, never mind one particular player scoring/been put in space.

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:50 am  

FSW wrote:

It's not the coaching. The players are trying to get it to TJ but basically just aren't good enough. When we do make moves flow they flow at an angle towards the touchline and squeeze out our most potent strike force. Making progress forward before spreading the ball creates more room out wide but that's one of our failings and nothing to do with coaching but comparative ability with most opposition.

We are smothered by opposition defences because they can gamble that they can respond more quickly in defence than we can ship the ball to the wing so to counter that we have to try long passed or kicks to space but these are the two areas where all of our halfbacks are particularly weak.

There's no reason why TJ can't come inside and follow the ball down the middle. It worked well for Offiah.

Can't agree with any of that to be honest. If the ball was being moved out left but not making it due to a lack of ability amongst the players I'd agree with you, but it never goes that way does it.

It's onlt i1 month ago that Tom and Tupou terrorized teams on the left and virtually all those players are still available. True they have had little chance to play as a unit and I take that into account but he should still be geting more ball, even if it's just running it oout of defence.

Sorry but this tactic of endlessley going to the right can only come from the Coach, I'm not sure how you can deny that.

Offih did this 30 years ago, different game.

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:50 am  

TheDreadnought wrote:

And where did it get us? We went toe to toe with the best team in the league and for a large part of the game a win was in our grasps.

Scoring a try for Trinity has been a luxury recently, never mind one particular player scoring/been put in space.

I've no idea what you are trying to say.

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:08 am  

Fishermanscap wrote:

I've no idea what you are trying to say.

Can you not read or do you have trouble following conversations?

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 8:11 am  

When Johnstone was scoring his most prolific tries and not just sublime finishes with no space, it was often done by giving him early ball, with a bit of broken play in front of him.
We all know that he doesn't need a lot of space but, he is very much a marked man.
Although Walker had possibly his best game for us last week, he doesn't seem to come into the attacking line too often, which makes the extra man and with that, some space.
Cas, when they had Gale and Dorn working their left side, were superb at creating space on the left flank.
Solomona and then Eden were scoring tries for fun.
This comes down to the attack being structured and organised, something we haven't had for a couple of seasons

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 9:53 am  

Walker used to drift into the line very effectively for London.

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 10:34 am  

pamsboy wrote:

Walker used to drift into the line very effectively for London.

I always found this the weakest part of his game. The lad can tackle and take high balls all day but I always find that despite him joining the line to create the extra man he hesitates to find that pass that creates the overlap and ends up running it in himself. This has continued in his trinity appearances. If you watch a few games on trinity tv you’ll see this too on many occasions. Not that I think he isn’t a good full back because he is in my opinion just this is one thing he needs to work on heavily in attacking positions imo.

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 10:42 am  

Trojan Horse wrote:

I always found this the weakest part of his game. The lad can tackle and take high balls all day but I always find that despite him joining the line to create the extra man he hesitates to find that pass that creates the overlap and ends up running it in himself. This has continued in his trinity appearances. If you watch a few games on trinity tv you’ll see this too on many occasions. Not that I think he isn’t a good full back because he is in my opinion just this is one thing he needs to work on heavily in attacking positions imo.

Do you think it's the player or the structure / coaching ?

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 12:29 pm  

On the subject of Tom Johnstone, I think his career is in danger of being stagnated!
We all want him to stay as part of a team that competes and regularly gives him the chance to show his abilities but that’s just not happening.

Injuries haven’t helped but the attention his try scoring prowess generated could soon be forgotten while some lesser or younger players steal his place in the England team. A good example is Ash Handley at Leeds, a good player but not brilliant however he’s worked hard and improved and now he scores try’s for fun and looks a solid bet for an England call up maybe at TJs expense.

Being unselfish I would advise Tom to look around for another club NRL or SL and to do what Topliss did after years of loyalty and go somewhere where he can win things and secure his Representative place.

Re: Saints (episode 2) Thursday KO 19.45 : Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:22 pm  

wrencat1873 wrote:

Do you think it's the player or the structure / coaching ?

There’s a question. It’s hard to quantify. I think it’s more a combination of player, the teams pivots and the coaching element. I think a quality SH would go a long way to creating that extra bit of space across the line to exploit. I also think that the one advantage of Jowitt to Walker is that he has that pass in him when joining the line (cut out ball) that Walker seems to have a reluctance to try. Again that may be because our pivots aren’t taking the ball to the line and drawing the numbers in to make the space.